Wenger Denies Arsenal Bid for Luiz and Lemar

Arsene Wenger has denied the reports that Arsenal were preparing to bid for Chelsea’s defender David Luiz and Monaco’s Thomas Lemar this month.

At the same time he confirmed that the team currently have had no offers for Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil or Jack Wilshere in the current transfer window. All three players will be out of contract with Arsenal this summer unless they sign new contracts beforehand.

When asked if he has been approached about the three players Wenger said, “We have not been contacted by anybody”. In regards to how he thinks the team would cope without the trio Wenger said, “First of all we have not lost them yet, and secondly we will respond to that by bringing in players of top quality.”

Wenger went on to say that over the years the club has lost a number of big name players and always managed to respond well, “Massive players have left this club and the club will always be in a strong position on that front. But you want to keep your best players, yes.”

He said that they are looking to sign some players during this transfer window but said that any offers that they make could be reliant on whether or not players extend their current contracts.

“We are open in any position for the exceptional player that can give us a plus,” said Wenger.

“It depends a bit on the injuries as well, on the other hand it depends who will manage to extend the contracts of the players who are at the end of their contracts in June.”

He said that once they have clarity on contract extensions then they will be able to respond to the situation appropriately.